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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28057008">what a wonderful world</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/besidemethewholedamntime/pseuds/besidemethewholedamntime'>besidemethewholedamntime</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon-Compliant, F/M, Family, Gen, Humour, Set during those four years in space</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 15:42:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,001</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28057008</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/besidemethewholedamntime/pseuds/besidemethewholedamntime</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Taking a deep breath, she composes herself and tries to cool her temper. “Now, what were you so delightfully shouting me about?”</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>Fitz points to Enoch. “Why don’t you ask him?”</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>She’s really not in the mood to settle another one of their petty squabbles, which are occurring more frequently as of late, usually down to Enoch not entirely understanding the human need for sleep and how a human infant can interfere with that. Fitz’s nerves are frayed to the extreme, his patience is razor-thin, but Enoch is slow on the uptake and will sometimes barge in when Fitz is trying to catch a five-minute nap with a question that really could have waited until later.</i>
</p>
<p>Raising a baby in space is no easy task. Or, the story of how Alya gets her ears pierced.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>65</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>what a wonderful world</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluengbhd/gifts">bluengbhd</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is for Martina, who is one of the loveliest beans on the planet who I am so grateful for! I know you've been a little (a lot) stressed lately so here's a funny, little bit silly fic that I hope cheers you up a bit. Thank you for being you &lt;3</p>
<p>As I said this is a humorous fic that is a little bit silly, I admit that! I truly don't know where the idea came from but I just kind of wanted to write the explanation for why Alya has her ears pierced and this is what I came up with! I hope it's alright and I hope you like it!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jemma’s in the middle of trying to snatch a five-minute nap when she hears Fitz’s shout.</p>
<p>“<em>Jemma!</em>” It comes from somewhere in the Zephyr. “<em>Jemma!</em>”</p>
<p>A shout like that would usually frighten her, especially when her baby is not in the room, but since it’s not threaded through with panic, she finds herself merely irritated. She’s just this minute laid her head down, trying to enjoy the only time she has had entirely to herself in goodness knows how long, and she’s not ready to relinquish it.</p>
<p>She rolls over, sticking her head under the pillow, hoping Fitz will come to his senses and shut up and leave her alone. Except of course he doesn’t, and not even three seconds later he’s shouting her name, the last vowel ringing through the metalwork and into her ears.</p>
<p>Groaning in frustration, she throws the blanket aside and tears out of bed, zipping up Fitz’s hoodie that she’d been wearing to sleep so hard that she almost cuts her chin. Trying to remember where she heard the voice coming from, she looks in a few places before finally checking the living room. Before she gets in there, however, she pauses behind the door to listen.</p>
<p>“… wait until Jemma gets in here because she is going to freak out and maybe then you’ll see-”</p>
<p>Unable to let him finish the conversation she walks in. “Why am I going to freak out?”</p>
<p>Fitz is standing at one end of the sofa, Enoch at the other, and Alya is nestled amongst the cushions between them. When he hears her enter, Fitz spins on her immediately.</p>
<p>“Oh, <em>there </em>you are. Took your sweet time, didn’t you?”</p>
<p>She narrows her eyes at him. “Well excuse me for trying to get five minutes sleep only to be interrupted by your yelling. It’s not like I grew a baby or anything.”</p>
<p>Fitz scoffs. “You’ve woken quicker from a nap when food is involved.”</p>
<p>“Maybe if you’d promised food then I would have come to you quicker,” she says, in such a tone that Fitz glares at her but doesn’t say anything else. Sleep deprivation has made them snappy, and she loves him but oh, sometimes she wants to strangle him.</p>
<p>Taking a deep breath, she composes herself and tries to cool her temper. “Now, what were you so delightfully shouting me about?”</p>
<p>Fitz points to Enoch. “Why don’t you ask him?”</p>
<p>She’s really not in the mood to settle another one of their petty squabbles, which are occurring more frequently as of late, usually down to Enoch not entirely understanding the human need for sleep and how a human infant can interfere with that. Fitz’s nerves are frayed to the extreme, his patience is razor-thin, but Enoch is slow on the uptake and will sometimes barge in when Fitz is trying to catch a five-minute nap with a question that really could have waited until later.</p>
<p>Trying to be understanding of this, but still remembering the comfort of the bed she was in only five minutes ago, and fed-up of feeling like she has three children to deal with, Jemma turns to Enoch and says in a tight voice, “What exactly is it that you have to tell me?”</p>
<p>Enoch looks at Fitz. “I am afraid I do not understand-”</p>
<p>“Oh my <em>God,</em>” Fitz half-yells, interrupting. “He pierced her ears, Jemma! He took our baby and he pierced her ears.”</p>
<p>“<em>What?” </em>She exclaims without meaning to, immediately going over to and kneeling before Alya who watches them all with a half-smile on her face, as though she is cognizant of the argument. She was hoping she had misheard but sure enough, there is one little gold star in each of their baby’s ears.</p>
<p>“Oh my gosh,” Jemma whispers, hand on either side of their daughter’s head, mindful of her ears. “What has he done to you?”</p>
<p>“Exactly,” Fitz says, and she can just imagine his wild gestures. “What have you done, Enoch, hmm? Care to explain yourself?”</p>
<p>“I believe that is what I was trying to do before I was interrupted by your hysterics.”</p>
<p>Jemma whips around. “I’d try harder.”</p>
<p>Enoch tilts his head as if confused by her acidic tone, as if he can’t see anything wrong with putting two holes in their baby’s ears without their permission.</p>
<p>“Well, in my time on your earth I have observed that many humans choose to pierce the ears of their young, however it appears to cause distress to both the parent and the child. Therefore, I undertook this task myself, in order to save you both from such distress.”</p>
<p>Both Fitz and Jemma simply blink at him and then look at each other, before turning back to Enoch. Their scandalised, “<em>What</em>?”s are perfectly in sync.</p>
<p>“I believed it is what you would have wanted.” Enoch looks at Fitz. “Was it not?”</p>
<p>“What the <em>hell?</em>”</p>
<p>Jemma knows from experience that Fitz’s tone and that particular emphasis on his final word means he is around two seconds from losing his temper completely, but she finds she doesn’t want to diffuse this situation as much as she normally would. Maybe it’s tiredness, maybe she’s cranky at being deprived her sleep, and maybe it’s something to do with the new earrings Alya is sporting, but she almost feels as though she wants to have this fight.</p>
<p>“You are mental,” Fitz yells. “Absolutely bloody mental. This is the last thing I would ever want! What is it with you and thinking you know me when you really have no bloody clue at all, do you?”</p>
<p>“I apologise, Fitz.” Enoch bows his head briefly. “I did not mean to cause you more distress.”</p>
<p>“Just- just be quiet.” Fitz pinches the bridge of his nose. “I just can’t believe you and your stupid ideas.”</p>
<p>Alya giggles and Jemma turns back around, eye to eye with her daughter. “You’re finding this funny, aren’t you?” She wiggles one of Alya’s feet. “Oh yes you are, aren’t you? Yes you are.”</p>
<p>Alya just stuffs her first in her mouth and laughs again, clearly unbothered by the altercation about to take place in her name. Jemma sighs wearily, feeling oh so tired again.</p>
<p>“You don’t care at all, do you?” She laughs at the ridiculousness of it. Alya smiles gummily at her. “You’re completely fine.”</p>
<p>“-assure you she did not feel a thing. Many years ago I acquired a recipe for a balm with analgesic properties, which-”</p>
<p>“What part of shut up did you not understand, hm? Because I am sick and I am tired of hearing your excuses. You know what you can do? You can take your excuses and you can shove them-”</p>
<p>“Alright!” Jemma shouts with finality, standing up and turning away from Alya to the grown man and the grown robot who are squabbling like children. Trying not to think too long about that analgesic balm Enoch had mentioned (and why hadn’t he mentioned it before), she glares at both of them. “Enough. You’re being ridiculous.”</p>
<p>Fitz scoffs. “I’m not being ridiculous. He is.” He gestures fiercely at Enoch. “He pierced her ears and instead of just saying sorry like a normal Chronicom, he’s now trying to justify it.”</p>
<p>She chooses to ignore the more far-fetched parts of his sentence. “<em>Both </em>of you are being ridiculous.” She turns to their live-in alien. “Enoch, please, ask us before you do anything that will alter our daughter’s appearance in the future.” She turns to her partner. “And Fitz, go to sleep.”</p>
<p>“What?” He widens his eyes and she can see the dark circles underneath, the bruise coloured thumbprints that she’s sure are under her own. “How can you be so calm?”</p>
<p>“It’s earrings, not a tattoo, and it’s already done.” She gestures to Alya. “She’s fine, Fitz. She’s fine. I don’t want to argue anymore. I want to go to sleep like I was ten minutes ago.” Looking at him pointedly, she sighs and holds out her hand for him to take. “Now let’s go to bed.”</p>
<p>He looks at her hand as though he wants to take it desperately, but then he looks at Alya. “What about her?”</p>
<p>Jemma turns to Enoch, smiling sweetly. “Enoch, would you mind watching Alya while we take a brief nap?”</p>
<p>He bows his head. “It would be a pleasure, Jemma Simmons.”</p>
<p>“Oh no.” Fitz recoils, holding up a finger. “No. He’s not being with her unsupervised ever again. Nope. Not happening.”</p>
<p>“Fitz,” she says in one big exhale. “Enough. He’s already said he won’t do it again.”</p>
<p>“As if that means anything. Like remember when you said you wouldn’t leave dead things next to my lunch again?”</p>
<p>“That was <em>years </em>ago and I can’t believe you would bring that up now. I told you I was sorry.”</p>
<p>“But you still did it, didn’t you? Proving my point.”</p>
<p>“He’s hardly going to pierce her ears again though, is he? Don’t be so ridiculous.”</p>
<p>“Ridiculous? You’re saying that a lot but the only one who seems to be acting ridiculous is you, Jemma.”</p>
<p>“Oh my God, Fitz, for someone who’s supposed to be a parent, you seem to be doing a good job of acting like the <em>child</em>.”</p>
<p>“Excuse me.” Enoch clears his throat, walking between the two of them and picking Alya up from the cushions, cradling her against his chest. “If you do not mind, Alya Fitzsimmons and I shall be going through to the workshop so she may not be disturbed by your argument any longer.”</p>
<p>Ignoring both of their wide-open mouths, he walks between them again to the door. “You may stay here or go to the bedroom for your long-awaited sleep. I shall fetch you if we have any problems, though I doubt that we will. Miss Alya Fitzsimmons and I get along quite well.” He nods once. “Goodbye.” And then leaves.</p>
<p>Fitz’s is the first to pick his jaw up off the floor. “Did he just-?”</p>
<p>“Yes.” Jemma swallows. “I believe he did.” She holds out her hand again. “So, shall we go to bed?”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” he sighs, smiling tiredly as he takes her hand in his. “Let’s go to sleep.”</p>
<p>They fall into bed rather ungracefully, but instinctively they manage to assume their positions. Fitz lies flat on his back and Jemma seeks her usual spot on his chest, that place comfier than any pillow could ever be. Her eyelids pull themselves together as if magnetised, and almost immediately she hears Fitz’s breathing begin to even out.</p>
<p>“He pierced her ears,” he murmurs, just as Jemma’s on the brink of oblivion. “Can you believe that?”</p>
<p>“Oddly enough I can,” she hums. “It doesn’t matter now anyway. And besides, at least they’re small earrings.”</p>
<p>Fitz scoffs sleepily, the sound vibrating from his chest onto Jemma’s cheek. “Can you imagine when she’s a teenager? I bet you he’s the one that gets her a nose-piercing or a tattoo.”</p>
<p>“We’ll deal with it when the time comes, Fitz,” she mumbles, snuggling into him further.</p>
<p>“Guess we will,” he sighs, and if she was more awake then she might think about his sentence more, about the impossibility of it, but she’s not and so the room goes quiet for an entirely different reason.</p>
<p>Fitz’s arm around her suddenly tightens against her. “Hey, Jemma?”</p>
<p>Once again while she was almost dreaming. “What is it?”</p>
<p>“Do you think we’re doing alright? You know, at this parenting thing?”</p>
<p>It’s such a simple question, but usually it would make her stop and think through all of the evidence, measure them up against this invisible scale they’ve created in their minds. But she’s too tired for that now, and her brain forgoes all of the analysis and delivers her to the most simple truth.</p>
<p>“Yes, Fitz,” she mumbles into his t-shirt, feeling sleep pull her under. Fitz’s arm is warm around her and his heartbeat is strong in her ear. In this moment, this is the best place there ever was. “I think we’re doing absolutely fine.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you so much for reading - I hoped you enjoyed this! Please feel free to leave kudos/comments. Please feel free not to. Either way, I hope you're having a lovely day and are managing to stay safe and well &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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